Hammer breaker for breaking-up bulky refuse material

ABSTRACT

A hammer breaker for breaking up bulky refuse material comprises a rotor having a number of breaking hammers attached to it about its periphery, the rotor being rotatably mounted in a housing having a lower open end and a part above the rotor which forms a supply hopper. The part above the rotor includes two opposite side walls which extend in the direction of the axis of rotation of the rotor and which diverge away from each other. One of these two side walls which is adjacent the part of the rotor where the hammers are moving downwardly as the rotor rotates has one or more counter-tools fixed to it and this side wall is hinged to the remainder of the housing to enable it to be moved to move the counter-tool or tools towards and away from the rotor axis and a mechanism which preferably includes a toggle linkage and a hydraulic ram is provided for moving the hinged side wall inwards and outwards. The hinge axis of the hinged side wall, which is parallel to the axis of rotation of the rotor is at substantially the same level as the axis of rotation of the rotor and the side wall extends upwards from the hinged axis to above the uppermost point on the path of rotation of the hammers as the rotor rotates. Movement of the side wall by its moving mechanism towards or away from the rotor ensures that if the bulky refuse material supplied to the housing bridges over the rotor, the bridge collapses and the material is fed again to the rotor.

United States Patent [1 1 Sch'afer et al.

[ Dec. 31, 1974 HAMMERBREAKER FOR BREAKING-UP BULKY REFUSE MATERIAL [73-] Assignee: Linde mann Maschinenfabrik GmbH, Dusseldorf, Germany [22] Filed: May 23, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 362,914

[30]- Foreign Application Priority Data 3,608,841 9/1971 Wageneder.. 241/189 R 3,662,963 5/1972 McClure 241/186 R 3,684,196 8/1972 Hankins 241/240 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,358,565 3/1964 France 241/239 Primary Examiner-Granville Y. Custer, Jr. Assistant Examiner-Howard N. Goldberg Attorney, Agent, or FirmToren, McGeady and Stanger 5 7] ABSTRACT A hammer breaker for breaking up bulky refuse material comprises a rotor having a number of breaking hammers attached to it about its periphery, the rotor being rotatably mounted in a housing having a lower open end and a part above the rotor which forms a supply hopper. The part above the rotor includes two opposite side walls which extend in the direction of the axis of rotation of the rotor and which diverge away from each other. One of these two side walls which is adjacent the part of the rotor where the hammers are moving downwardly as the rotor rotates has one or more counter-tools fixed to it and this side wall is hinged to the remainder of the housing to enable it to be moved to move the counter-tool or tools towards and away from the rotor axis and a mechanism which preferably includes a toggle linkage and a hydraulic ram is provided for moving the hinged side wall inwards and outwards. The hinge axis of the hinged side wall, which is parallel to the axis of rotation of the rotor is at substantially the same level as the axis of rotation of the rotor and the side wall extends upwards from the hinged axis to above the uppermost point on the path of rotation of the hammers as the rotor rotates. Movement of the side wall by its moving mechanism towards or away from the rotor ensures that if the bulky refuse material supplied to the housing bridges over the rotor, the bridge collapses and the material is fed again to the rotor.

4 Claims, 1 Drawing Figure HAMMER BREAKER FOR BREAKING-UP BULKY REFUSE MATERIAL The invention relates to a hammer breaker which is particularly suitable for breaking down bulky refuse.

Bulky refuse often includes items having large dimensions, for example, entire pieces of furniture such as wardrobes or living room cupboards, and it is required that they should be dealt with directly by a hammer breaker, without being previously broken down into separate parts. It appears at first that this necessitates a hammer breaker of correspondingly large dimensions, especially in the size of the rotor to which the hammers are fitted. It is however uneconomical to provide such large rotors because they consume an appreciable amount of energy at start-up and only a relatively small amount of energy is usually required for breaking down bulky refuse which is mainly not made of metal.

For these reasons, hammer breakers have been developed, which include a tapering hopper to orientate the rubbish'so that its smallest dimensions is presented towards the hammers. The hopper is mounted above a rotor having a number of breaking hammers around its periphery. The hammers cooperate with a counter-tool which is placed adjacent the track of the rotating hammers. The breaker also includes a discharge opening beneath the rotor fordischarging the broken material. Such a hammer breaker is described in West German Auslegeschrift No. 2,034,074.

A disadvantage with breakers of this type is that the articles introduced into the widened hopper do not always arrive at the rotating hammers. As the hopper tapers inwards from the top there is a risk that the material will remain suspended between the housing walls,

the separation of which reduces in the downward direction. Material which does not reach the hammers therefore builds a bridge between the walls which can only be removed by manual work from outside the hopper after the rotor has been shut down.

It is an object of this invention to provide a hammer breaker of the above-described type, in which bridging of any kind, regardless of the nature of the material being handled, can be removed without interrupting the operation of the breaker.

According to our invention a hammer breaker for breaking up bulky refuse material comprises a rotor having a number of breaking hammers attached about its periphery, the rotor being rotatably mounted in a housing having a lower, open end and a part above the rotor which forms a supply hopper and has walls which extend in the direction of the axis of rotation of the rotor and diverge upwards from each other, the side wall adjacent the downwardly moving hammers having one or more counter-tools fixed to it and being hinged to the remainder of the housing to enable it to be moved to move the tool or tools towards and away from the rotor axis, the hinge axis being at substantially the same level as the axis of rotation of the rotor and the hinged side wall extending upwards from the hinge axis to above the uppermost point on the path of rotation of the hammers, and a mechanism for moving the hinged wall towards and away from the rotor.

If bridging takes place, then it is usually only necessary to move the side wall against which one end of the bridge is bearing, in order to ensure that the bridge collapses. In difficult cases however, a bridge remains init is necessary to move the side wall inwards to break up the bridge and, if necessary, to move it outwards again to collapse the bridge.

In the construction referred to in German Auslegeschrift No. 2,034,074 the wall carrying the counter-tools could be moved but this did not have the purpose or effect of overcoming bridge building since the movable part of the wall was beneath the part where bridging is likely to take place. The mobility of the baffle wall served solely in that case for loosening components which had become jammed between the rotor and the counter-tools and which retarded or completely stopped the rotor. By moving the baffle wall in this known form of construction, this state of affairs was overcome.

Preferably the hinged side wall extends above the tapered hopper of the housing. The hinged side wall and the side wall opposite it maybe provided with substantially horizontal strips having a saw-tooth shaped cross section, the strips being arranged to permit material to move downwards towards the rotor but to prevent it from moving upwards away from the rotor.

The battle wall is of course subject to powerful impacts, indirectly from the hammers and these impacts endeavour to press it outwards. Preferably therefore the mechanism includes a toggle linkage driven by a hydraulic ram- An example of a hammer breaker in accordance with the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing which is a diagrammatic vertical cross-section through a hammer breaker.

The hammer breaker, designated generally as 1, consists of a housing 2, closed at the top and open at the bottom and comprising an inlet opening 3 for bulky material 4, the material being introduced by means of an endless belt conveyor B. The material thus arrives in the upper part of the housing 2, which is formed as a large chamber 5. The chamber 5 will completely accept the large bulky objects originally mentioned. Below the chamber 5, that is, below the plane designated by E, side walls 9 and 10 of the housing 2, which are shown in section in the drawing, converge like a hopper; the walls of the housing in the plane of the drawing remaining parallel. The width of the housing is thus reduced until it corresponds to the diameter of the outer rotational circle of hammers 6. The hammers 6 are attached to the periphery of a rotor 7 and the rotor 7 is rotated in the direction of the arrow P by means of a shaft 8. The two side walls 9 and 10, constituting the hopper-like part of the housing 2 are arranged at different inclinations, and are fitted with strips 11. The strips 11 have a saw-tooth cross-section and they help prevent the material to be broken up in the hammer breaker from moving upwards in the housing 2 towards the inlet opening 3.

The side wall 10 is pivoted about an axis 12 which lies approximately at the same height as the shaft 8, and extends upwards well above the top dead-centre 13 of the outer rotational circle of the hammers 6. The side wall 10 therefore constitutes a flap or baffle wall. It carries a transverse strip 14 which acts as an anvil or countertool and cooperates with the hammers 6. When the side wall 10 is in its innermost position the anvil 14 extends up to the outer rotational circle 15 of the hammers 6, but it always remains just outside this circle 15 so that the anvil 14 is never struck directly by the hammers 6.

The pivoted side wall is moved by a toggle linkage operated by a hydraulic ram 16. The wall 10 is shown in the drawing inits innermost position and it pivots outwards. The side wall 10 is moved to release a buildup of material which has formed a bridge of material above the hammers 6. The normal method of operation is as follows: The flap 10 is initially moved from its innermost position somewhat outwards, towards the left in the drawing, so that it is in a position either to move further to the left or to the right. By moving the side wall outwards the support at the ends of the bridge of material are removed and thus the material falls down to be broken up by the hammers 6. However a particularly tenacious bridge of material may simply slide bodily further down the hopper part of the housing and still not reach the hammers. In this case the side wall 10 is moved inwards again and this crushes the bridge and so breaks it up and releases the material, enabling it to fall down to be broken up by the hammers 6. In this manner it is possible to avoid all types of bridging above the rotor, so that finally all the material entering the opening 3 is broken up and leaves from the lower opening 17 of the housing. It is possible to continuously move the wall 10 to and fro during the operation of the hammer breaker and it is not necessary to observe the processes occurring inside the housing 2 since any bridge that forms will automatically be destroyed.

A shield 19 is provided as an extension to the fixed part 18 of the side wall 10 of the housing 2, this shield is shaped to the path of the upper edge 20 of the movable part of the side wall 10 and so prevents any material escaping from the upper part of the housing when the wall 10 is moved outwards.

The double acting hydraulic ram 16 is connected to the pivoted wall by a three component toggle linkage 21, 22 and 23. The components 21 and 22 constitute the true toggle linkage, the right-hand end of which is pivotally connected by a pivot 24 to the wall 10, and the left-hand end is pivotally connected by a pivot 25 to a plate 26 which is firmly fixed to the housing 2. The components 23 and 22 are rigidly fixed together to form a bell-crank, the free end of which is pivotally connected by a pivot 29 to a piston 27 of the hydraulic cylinder 16. The components 21 and 22 are pivotally connected together at a central pivot 28 and this also provides the pivot for the bell-crank formed by the components 22 and 23.

In the innermost position shown in the drawing the toggle linkage is extended so that the links 21 and 22 are aligned, in this position the forces on the wall 10 from the action of the hammers 6 are transmitted solely to the pivot 25 and hence to the plate 26, the hydraulic cylinder 16 is thus completely relieved of any impact loading. When the linkage components 21 and 22 are not aligned but have a large angle included between them, the components of the forces acting upon the piston 27 and the cylinder 16 are low when compared to the forces acting on the plate 26, due to the impact loading.

We claim;

1. A hammer breaker for breaking up bulky refuse material, said breaker including a rotor, a plurality of breaking hammers attached to said rotor spaced apart about the radially outer periphery thereof, a rotor housing, means rotatably supporting said rotor in said housing with the axis of rotation thereof extending substantially horizontally, means for rotating said rotor in said housing so that said rotor rotates about its axis of rotation in a vertical plane and the radilly outer surfaces of said breaking hammers attached to said rotor pass along a vertically arranged outer rotational circle, said housing having means defining an open end thereof below said rotor and walls extending upwardly from said rotor housing to form a supply hopper for conducting the bulky refuse materials downwardly into contact with said breaking hammers on said rotor, said upwardly extending walls including a side wall extending transversely of the plane of the outer rotational circle of said breaking hammers and said side wall being positioned adjacent the periphery of said outer rotational circle along which said breaking hammers move downwardly when said rotor is rotated by said driving means, at least one counter-tool fixed to said side wall,

means hingedly mounting said side wall at its lower end for pivotal movement about an axis parallel to said axis of rotation of said rotor and means for moving said side wall about said pivotal axis to move said side wall and said counter-tool toward and away from the outer rotational circle of said breaking hammers, said pivotal axis of said side wall being at substantially the same level as said axis of rotation of said rotor and said side wall extending upwardly from said pivotal axis to above the top-center of the outer rotational circle of said hammers as said rotor is rotated by said driving means, said means for moving said side wall including means for supporting said side wall in a rigid position with said counter-tool immediately adjacent to and radially outwardly of the outer rotational circle so that said counter-tool cooperates with but does not contact said breaking hammers in breaking up the bulky refuse material, said means for moving said side wall being arranged to displace said side wall from the rigid position with said counter-tool located adjacent the outer rotational circle outwardly away from the outer rotational circle while retaining said side wall positioned relative to the remaining said walls so that said supply hopper formed thereby can be increased in cross sectional flow area for relieving any bridging of the bulky refuse material moving downwardly toward said rotor.

2. A hammer breaker, as set forth in claim 1, wherein in the rigid position of said side wall, said side wall in combination with one of said walls disposed oppositely from said side wall converge downwardly toward one another from a point above said outer rotational circle of said hammers for forming said hopper in combination with the other said walls, and the upper end of said side wall extending upwardly above the point at which said side wall converges with the oppositely positioned one of said walls.

3. A hammer breaker, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said walls include a wall positioned opposite said side wall which converges inwardly toward said side wall in the downward direction, and vertically spaced horizontally extending strips fixed to said side wall and said oppositely disposed wall and said said strips located above the horizontal plane containing the axis of rotation of said rotor, each of said strips in a plane parallel to the plane of the outer rotational circle of said hammers having a saw-tooth cross section with said saw-tooth cross section comprising a first surface extending from the wall to which it is fixed downwardly toward said rotor and a second surface extending from the wall to which it is fixed outwardly from the wall transversely of said first surface, said strips being arranged to permit the bulky refuse material fed to said housing to move downwardly toward said rotor, but to prevent the material from moving upwardly away from said rotor under the action of said hammers on the material.

4. A hammer breaker, as set forth in claim 1, wherein a plate is firmly fixed to said hopper and extends outwardly from said side wall, said means for moving said side wall including said means for supporting said side wall includes a toggle linkage pivotally connected to said side wall and to said plate, said toggle linkage inaway from the outer rotational circle of said hammers. 1 

1. A hammer breaker for breaking up bulky refuse material, said breaker including a rotor, a plurality of breaking hammers attached to said rotor spaced apart about the radially outer periphery thereof, a rotor housing, means rotatably supporting said rotor in said housing with the axis of rotation thereof extending substantially horizontally, means for rotating said rotor in said housing so that said rotor rotates about its axis of rotation in a vertical plane and the radilly outer surfaces of said breaking hammers attached to said rotor pass along a vertically arranged outer rotational circle, said housing having means defining an open end thereof below said rotor and walls extending upwardly from said rotor housing to form a supply hopper for conducting the bulky refuse materials downwardly into contact with said breaking hammers on said rotor, said upwardly extending walls including a side wall extending transversely of the plane of the outer rotational circle of said breaking hammers and said side wall being positioned adjacent the periphery of said outer rotational circle along which said breaking hammers move downwardly when said rotor is rotated by said driving means, at least one counter-tool fixed to said side wall, means hingedly mounting said side wall at its lower end for pivotal movement about an axis parallel to said axis of rotation of said rotor and means for moving said side wall about said pivotal axis to move said side wall and said counter-tool toward and away from the outer rotational circle of said breaking hammers, said pivotal axis of said side wall being at substantially the same level as said axis of rotation of said rotor and said side wall extending upwardly from said pivotal axis to above the top-center of the outer rotational circle of said hammers as said rotor is rotated by said driving means, said means for moving said side wall including means for supporting said side wall in a rigid position with said counter-tool immediately adjacent to and radially outwardly of the outer rotational circle so that said countertool cooperates with but does not contact said breaking hammers in breaking up the bulky refuse material, said means for moving said side wall being arranged to displace said side wall from the rigid position with said counter-tool located adjacent the outer rotational circle outwardly away from the outer rotational circle while retaining said side wall positioned relative to the remaining said walls so that said supply hopper formed thereby can be increased in cross sectional flow area for relieving any bridging of the bulky refuse material moving downwardly toward said rotor.
 2. A hammer breaker, as set forth in claim 1, wherein in the rigid position of said side wall, said side wall in combination with one of said walls disposed oppositely from said side wall converge downwardly toward one another from a point above said outer rotational circle of said hammers for forming said hopper in combination with the other said walls, and the upper end of said side wall extending upwardly above the point at which said side wall converges with the oppositely positioned one of said walls.
 3. A hammer breaker, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said walls include a wall positioned opposite said side wall which converges inwardly toward said side wall in the downward direction, and vertically spaced horizontally extending strips fixed to said side wall and said oppositely disposed wall and said said strips located above the horizontal plane containing the axis of rotation of said rotor, each of said strips in a plane parallel to the plane of the outer rotational circle of said hammers having a saw-tooth cross section with said saw-tooth cross section comprising a first surface extending from the wall to which it is fixed downwardly toward said rotor and a second Surface extending from the wall to which it is fixed outwardly from the wall transversely of said first surface, said strips being arranged to permit the bulky refuse material fed to said housing to move downwardly toward said rotor, but to prevent the material from moving upwardly away from said rotor under the action of said hammers on the material.
 4. A hammer breaker, as set forth in claim 1, wherein a plate is firmly fixed to said hopper and extends outwardly from said side wall, said means for moving said side wall including said means for supporting said side wall includes a toggle linkage pivotally connected to said side wall and to said plate, said toggle linkage includes a central pivot located between the pivotal connections of said linkage to said side wall and plate and in the rigid support positions of said side wall said control pivot is located in a straight line extending between the pivotal connections of said toggle linkage to said side wall and said plate, and hydraulic ram means connected to said central pivot and extending transversely of said toggle linkage in the rigid support position of said side wall for moving said central pivot laterally of said toggle linkage as said side wall is moved outwardly away from the outer rotational circle of said hammers. 